Jack!

[andyam]

So I had a puncture the other day and the jack well was jack shiz! Where the handle goes into a plastic part well the plastic bit broke and it ended up taking me 40minutes to change the wheel.

Do you guys think I have a case to get this replaced under warranty?

Anyone else had this problem? The jack in my a3 was mint but this is just shiz!

[mhurer]

I had a similar problem when I swapped from winter tyres back to summer tyres earlier this year. Although the plastic bit did not snap I could see it wasn't going to last long and was badly damaged. I reckon it won't survive being used again. I couldn't work out if I was just using it wrongly or a bad design. May be Audi don't think owners will actually be changing their tyres themselves that often e.g. use the AA, RAC etc.

Car is out of warranty so I didn't even bother going down that route. I guess I will be getting a proper jack if i'm going to be swapping tyres often.

[theskyfox]

I had to jack my car up with a flat tyre in the work car park last year. I found the jack worked, but like you say it wasn't particuarly robust and I can't imagine it will last many more times. I suppose you could try and get it replaced, but in honesty they will probably just replace it with the exact same thing. Quite a few cars now (e.g. the A1) don't even come with a spare wheel, instead they have that tyre gunk which can leave you in a sticky mess (ba dum tiss!).

With regards to Mhurer's comment, I wouldn't even consider using it to swap summer/winter wheels over - reserve it for emergencies/breakdowns only. I wouldn't trust it with prolonged persistent use like that...buy a proper jack, they are cheap enough.

-Andrew

[Doctle Odd]

Something like this Sealey 1050CXD Trolley Jack 2tonne Short Chassis with Storage Case | eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-1050CXD-Trolley-Jack-2tonne-Short-Chassis-with-Storage-Case-/390783251194?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item5afc7f32fa)

[mhurer]

Totally agree - planning to get a proper jack this weekend. Going off topic does it still help or correct to use copper grease when swapping tyres over?

[gupsterg]

I think the right term for the VAG jacks is widowmaker! :aargh4: ...

[Doctle Odd]

Totally agree - planning to get a proper jack this weekend. Going off topic does it still help or correct to use copper grease when swapping tyres over?

I still put a smear of Copaslip on wheel nuts/bolts

[theskyfox]

Totally agree - planning to get a proper jack this weekend. Going off topic does it still help or correct to use copper grease when swapping tyres over?

Yes I put copper grease on the hubs. Helps to stop (or at least reduce) the cold welding effect that happens otherwise. Make sure you keep it away from the brakes though..and not so sure I would put them on the nuts (just make sure they are torqued correctly and you will have no problem!).

-Andrew